Repair "don't"s

[Arkanabar]

Bicycle chain lubricant?

 

Until the arrival of White Lightning's line of parrafin-based lubricants, I had never in my 20 years of cycle commuting seen ANYTHING advertised or sold as "chain lubricant." You could grab motorcycle chain lube, soak the chain in parrafin, use WD-40 or silicone spray, or almost any light lube. (Phil Wood's Tenacious Oil was a poor choice, btw.) But I'd never seen anything that claimed to be made for bicycle chains.

 

Of course, all the bicycle chains I've ever seen used metal bushings, never O-rings...

[yoyology]

Another source for safe lubricant in an easy-to-use dispenser is yo-yo lube. Yomega sells what they call Brain Lube. It's Teflon-based and nicely thick.

[EHLawyer]

How about Super Lube, which is a Synthetic Grease? I used it on the threads of an old Sheaffer cartridge pen, converted to ED, with no apparent problems...........

[Bill H.]

I use a silicone type adhesive called "Stix-All" (an Elmers brand) for some pen repairs, including sealing threaded parts like Vacumatic sections, where the desire is for something that's inktight but can be undone relatively easily. Unlike shellac, you don't need to heat the joint much (or at all) to undo it, since it's not an iron-strength adhesive if used in small amounts. Thus, I don't use it for jobs such as sac attachment.

 

Also, unlike shellac or some other glues, any excess that comes out the joint is easily removed by peeling once it's cured.

 

So far I've never seen any problems caused by using it, or by the fact that it gives off acetic acid (like other silicone sealing materials) during the cure process.

[riff raff]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned it, but the little packets of "bulb grease" (for weather-proofing electrical connections on automotive lightbulbs) sold at the counter at places like AutoZone or O'Reilly's are silicone grease. Or you can buy a toothpaste-sized tube there for $3. It's also called "dielectric grease."

[Possum Hill]

How about Super Lube, which is a Synthetic Grease? I used it on the threads of an old Sheaffer cartridge pen, converted to ED, with no apparent problems...........

The synthetic oils and greases are generally made from petroleum, IIRC. You can expect them to have the same effect on plastics and elastomers as other petroleum products, but the grease or oil itself shouldn't need to be changed as often.

[Possum Hill]

When I say silicone - I mean the material - not the trade name. Yes, there are a lot of 'appropriations' as far as names go, but in this context remember that the goal is to avoid the adverse reaction that a lot of hydrocarbon based lubricants have to rubber products.

 

I am sure that I oversimplify - since I expect that an engineer familiar with lubricating materials will have volumes of information that pertain to the proper lubrication of rubber and plastic materials.

 

What has happened in the pen repair field is that some people have seized on the destructive effects of petroleum based lubricants on rubber products. This was extrapolated to all lubricants except 100% silicone based being required to prevent adverse reactions with the rubber products used in fountain pens - ie the latex sacs primarily, as well as the rubber O-rings used for sealing.

 

I am only trying to remind people that any lubricant used in a pen should be compatible with latex rubber as well as the material used in the O-ring construction, and that doesn't necessarily have to be 100% silicone lube.

 

Many applications - like brake lubricant and bicycle chain lubricant, are designed not to attack the rubber used in those applications. These lubricants should be safe for use in pens as well.

 

Remember - the problem you are trying to avoid is *only* the premature replacement of a sac or seal that you are likely replacing at this time. Not the potential destruction of the whole pen you are restoring... So it isn't an apocalyptic event - but rather one that you are capable of dealing with anyway.

 

So, for recommendations - I have only six (in no particular order):

Try a plumbing supply store and ask for the grease recommended for Moen (for example) faucets - its silicone based, and won't attack rubber O-rings,

Try an automotive supply store and ask for a brake parts lubricant,

Try an electronics supply store and ask for a dielectric grease for power transistors or SCR's,

Try a SCUBA shop and ask for a grease (lube) for their compressed air components,

Try a bicycle shop and ask for a grease that will not deteriorate rubber O-rings in the chain system.

 

Do not press these people as to whether their product is 100% silicone - they don't know, and it doesn't matter... or...

 

Try a pen repair supply shop (like Tryphon, WoodBin etc.) and ask for their silicone based lube.

 

Regards

 

Gerry

 

The most common material for O-rings works well with hydraulic oil and diesel fuel, so other materials in the pen call for non-petroleum based lubricants. Roller chain lubes will be safe for O-rings but not necessarily for latex sacs or the other materials.

[SoBePhoto]

Nikon sells a silicone o-ring lubricant for its underwater cameras that seems to work very well.

[D Armstrong]

Back to the 'what horrible things' question, how about this: do nothing that is not reversible.

 

If you use lube, make it the kind that can completely be cleaned off.

 

If you use glue, make it the kind that can be completely dissolved without damaging anything.

 

If you bend something, be sure it can be bent back without damage.

 

If you replace something, be sure it can be taken off again, by someone else, when a better part comes along.

 

 

Restorer's mantra: do nothing that is not reversible.

[viclip]

I thought I'd delve into the pure silicone debate for pen seal lubrication. As a former motorhead, I've used & replaced O-rings that spend decades submerged in transmission fluid (mineral oil) as well as gasoline (kills ordinary rubber at 800 yards!); the rubber seals traditionally used on automotive suspension components are in constant contact with the various stuff spewed forth from grease guns, again for decades. Yet I've discovered that using kerosene as a cleaning fluid for some rubbers, results in virtually immediate ossification (not a good thing for any seal, esp. touchdown barrel seals). Thus this issue has piqued my curiosity.

 

The Tryphon site sent me in the right direction. They offer identical use seals but in 3 different "rubber" formulations namely Nitrile Butadiene, Ethylene Propylene, & Fluorocarbon. It turns out that there are over a dozen chemical formulations for the lowly O-ring, with large differences in their chemical & physical properties. Take a look at the handbook published by the Parker Hannifin Corporation • O-Ring Division for everything & more you ever wanted to know about O-rings:

 

http://www.parker.com/literature/ORD%205700%20Parker_O-Ring_Handbook.pdf

 

In particular review chapter 2. While Nitrile Butadiene & Fluorocarbon rubbers exhibit excellent resistance to things like mineral oil/grease, Ethylene Propylene isn't compatible therewith. Ethylene Propylene as well as Fluorocarbon, are noted for their resistance to silicone oil/grease. Thus using Ethylene Propylene O-rings with a silicone lubricant containing mineral oil byproducts could be a recipe for disaster, esp. if it results in premature hardening &/or swelling. Note also that chemical resistance to other additives varies amongst O-ring materials too, such as resistance to alcohols.

 

I suppose the moral of the story is to use pure silicone lube unless you know that the rubber seal in question will handle other interactions, esp. if one comes across a supply of "vintage" seals. As for me, I haven't the foggiest notion what the various pen seals I've amassed from several different vendors are made from so I'll play it safe with pure silicone.

Edited September 9, 2010 by viclip

[PenFan95]

Never, and I repeat never try to open the sac protector area of a Snorkel without first cleaning and drying off the entire unit first.

 

Then, remember to keep the heat low and the pen away from the source of the heat-just enough to pry off the crimps from the sac protector.

 

Come to think of it...the best is to send it to an expert repair person. Trust me...I've tried all of the above, and speak from experience... :bonk: I'm not going to post pictures...all you'll feel is

 

The most important tip, however, is to keep the nib safe and away from harm at all costs! Otherwise, stuff like that tends to come super close from getting knocked off the table.

[Johane]

What not to do hhhmmm.........

 

Don't try to remove a "cold" section. always use a little heat to help ease it out first. This will save you a lot of cracked barrels.

 

Don't grab the sides of the nib and twist/pull trying to remove it. If you'r not going to use a knock out block always hold the nib in your thumb and index finger. Thumb on the feed and nib lying flat on your finger in betewwn the first and sceond joints

 

never flush your pens with bleach. Use instead a 1/5 ratio or water and amonia. NEVER NEVER NEVER MIX BLEACH AND AMONIA!! Chlorine gas can kill you!!

 

regular unpadded pliers are the worst thing for a section.

 

Never grab the nib/feed with pliers of any kind

 

NEVER HOLD A PEN IN YOUR TEETH!!!

 

(IMHO pen chewers should be thrown screaming from a hovering helicoptor......lol)

 

Like Keith said no rubber cement or locktite...nasty stuff to be sure. There are only a couple of rare times you'll need rubber cement.

 

Thats all that comes to mind at the moment, i'm sure something else will hit me later.

 

Dennis

THE PEN DEN

 

I don't have much to add to this topic in part because I'm too new to the fountain pen world and I have no clue about anything... I was just doing some research on silicone grease because... Well... I don't know anything! But isn't your post a little harsh on people who hold pens in their mouths? I mean, I hold my pens in my mouth - I don't chew! - but I've been known to absentmindedly pop my pen in my mouth either while I'm thinking, or having to do something with both hands (like typing). Sometimes it's just the tip - especially when I'm thinking - but it's not uncommon to see me with a pen "across" my mouth kind of like a bone...

 

I didn't take it personally, and I suspect that it was said at least partially in jest... I mean I know that I've joined a group of pen enthusiasts, so I realize that good pen care is going to be of preeminent importance to many people here. But thrown into a hovering helicopter? Isn't that maybe a little... overwhelming? It's certainly a ghastly way to deal with a "pet peeve"! I mean, as a food-industry professional, I've gotten into many a debate about things like how to chop an onion, and I've even been involved in a flame-war over the use of butter vs. butter substitutes! But we've never gone so far as to say that people should be fed to the alligators for it...

 

 

 

When I say silicone - I mean the material - not the trade name. Yes, there are a lot of 'appropriations' as far as names go, but in this context remember that the goal is to avoid the adverse reaction that a lot of hydrocarbon based lubricants have to rubber products.

 

I am sure that I oversimplify - since I expect that an engineer familiar with lubricating materials will have volumes of information that pertain to the proper lubrication of rubber and plastic materials.

 

What has happened in the pen repair field is that some people have seized on the destructive effects of petroleum based lubricants on rubber products. This was extrapolated to all lubricants except 100% silicone based being required to prevent adverse reactions with the rubber products used in fountain pens - ie the latex sacs primarily, as well as the rubber O-rings used for sealing.

 

I am only trying to remind people that any lubricant used in a pen should be compatible with latex rubber as well as the material used in the O-ring construction, and that doesn't necessarily have to be 100% silicone lube.

 

Many applications - like brake lubricant and bicycle chain lubricant, are designed not to attack the rubber used in those applications. These lubricants should be safe for use in pens as well.

 

Remember - the problem you are trying to avoid is *only* the premature replacement of a sac or seal that you are likely replacing at this time. Not the potential destruction of the whole pen you are restoring... So it isn't an apocalyptic event - but rather one that you are capable of dealing with anyway.

 

So, for recommendations - I have only six (in no particular order):

Try a plumbing supply store and ask for the grease recommended for Moen (for example) faucets - its silicone based, and won't attack rubber O-rings,

Try an automotive supply store and ask for a brake parts lubricant,

Try an electronics supply store and ask for a dielectric grease for power transistors or SCR's,

Try a SCUBA shop and ask for a grease (lube) for their compressed air components,

Try a bicycle shop and ask for a grease that will not deteriorate rubber O-rings in the chain system.

 

Do not press these people as to whether their product is 100% silicone - they don't know, and it doesn't matter... or...

 

Try a pen repair supply shop (like Tryphon, WoodBin etc.) and ask for their silicone based lube.

 

Regards

 

Gerry

And Gerry, ^^^this^^^ is exactly what I was looking for! I had tried looking at my local hardware store and either they didn't have a clue of what I was talking about or they would present me with something completely different (like WD-40 Silicone...) OR send me looking in the paint department for silicone caulking! (At least I knew well enough to know that that wasn't what I was looking for! )

 

I will print off your information and take it to my local Home Hardware or Canadian Tire... Hopefully, that'll put them on the right track!

 

Thanks so much for the information!

 

Johane

 

(I just ordered a fountain pen for my husband, and one for myself... Why do I feel like I'm a pregnant mother preparing the nursery for her unborn child? )

[Inkling13]

I'm confused.

 

I don't think of "contact cement" and "rubber cement" as the same thing. Many of the instructions for snorkel repair include rubber cement. it comes up often in discussions of pen repair as a good sealant that is easily removed and therefore safe.

 

of course, never drop a nib in the bottle of rubber cement. Especially not a Mont Blanc nib. (we won't go there)

Rubber Cement and Contact Cement are one and the same.

 

Is one these two "Shellac" ?

 

Denis.

It should be shellac.

[Inkling13]

Try to be careful on your Crown Jewels. Practice on entry level pens or used pens first, and work slowly.

Edited January 30, 2018 by Inkling13

[Captspiff]

Try to be careful on your Crown Jewels. Practice on entry level pens or used pens first, and work slowly.

 

Totally agree, I thought I did a great job on my first Sheaffer Snorkel but it turns out when I was clearing the snorkel tube I accidentally damaged the rubber breather tube.

[Ron Z]

 

Totally agree, I thought I did a great job on my first Sheaffer Snorkel but it turns out when I was clearing the snorkel tube I accidentally damaged the rubber breather tube.

 

breather tube. insert. That hard rubber piece in the snorkel tube is actually part of the feed system. The pen won't write without it, though they do seem to work fine if the inside end is broken off. I see it often enough that I don't replace the snorkel tube if the insert is snapped off right at the end of the tube, and the pens write just fine.

[Captspiff]

 

breather tube. insert. That hard rubber piece in the snorkel tube is actually part of the feed system. The pen won't write without it, though they do seem to work fine if the inside end is broken off. I see it often enough that I don't replace the snorkel tube if the insert is snapped off right at the end of the tube, and the pens write just fine.

Thanks for the correction! I am new to this so good to catch up on the terminology.